Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) has entered into a contract worth Rs 3.72 billion with the Ufone to provide 3G mobile broadband Internet facilities in Khuzdar and Chagai including Mashkhel Tehsil.

USF chief executive officer Faisal Sattar and Ufone President Rainer Rathgeber signed the contract here on Friday. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IT Minister Anusha Rahman were also present.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the USF and the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) was also held at the event with regard to establishment of telecentres.

The telecentres will be providing e-service, distance learning, besides creating employment opportunities among various other benefits such as bridging the digital divide.

Speaking on the occasion, Ishaq Dar said that it was the prime minister’s objective to pursue sound and equitable economic policies that had put Pakistan on the path of sustainable economic development. He applauded IT Ministry, the USF and the NTC for their effort and congratulated them on their achievements.

He reiterated that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was embarking upon its clear roadmap to ensure financial and technology inclusion in the country. He said social sector was the government’s priority, which was indicative of the fact that the present government had raised total allocation for social safety net from Rs 40 billion to Rs 117 billion. He vowed to fulfil the vision of the prime minister for making Pakistan a developed and economically sovereign country.

Anusha Rehman was of the view that the broadband for sustainable development projects would take state-of-the-art 3G mobile broadband service to far flung areas at a rapid pace and in almost parity with urban areas of the country. She said these contracts were part of overall policy decision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for providing maximum facilitation to remote areas of the country.

Under the contract, around 302,048 people in Khuzdar and 147,057 in Chagai would benefit and around 116 new base transceiver stations (BTS) towers would also be installed. She added that these projects, starting from January 2017, would improve the lives of people, create job opportunities for them and particularly empower women.

According to an estimate, districts of Nal Khuzdar, Aaranji, Wadh, Saroona, Mula, Ornach, Zaehri, Karkh, Dal Bandin, Taftan and Mashkhel will benefit from the said project.